Machine for joining looped fabrics



April 3, 1934. H, MOADAMS 1,953,247

MACHINE FOR JOINING LOOPED FABRICS Filed Oct. 26, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1W mmmnll INVENTOR Harry 1'1 flaams ATTORNEYS.

April 3, 1934. H. MOADAMS 1,953,247

MACHINE FOR JOINING LOOPED FABRICS Filed Oct. 26. 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 267 a 4 Z 66 J 5 44 INVENTOR ATTORN EYS .eration. However, since PatentedApr. 3, 1934 1,953,247 MACHINE 01: JOINING oornn FABRICS Harry McAdams,Philadelphia,

Pa., assignor to The Nolde and Horst Company, Reading, Pa., acorporation of Pennsylvania Applicatign October 26, 1931, Serial No.571,062

11 Claims.

My invention relates t9 a machine for joinin looped fabrics andparticularly to a machine for joining pieces of fabrics, or parts pf asingle piece of fabric, by means of a yarn or thread extending throughregistering yarn loops in the fabrics.

As an example of one of the numerous uses of my invention I shallhereinafter describe the latter as embodied in amachineutilizedfor'joining a turned down part of an ,extensiblestocking to the legportion thereof, such a stocking being described in copendingapplication of William Gosch Serial No. 555,015, filed August 4, 1931,now Patent No. 1,880,086 issued September 27, 1932. In manufacturingextensible stockings, it is customary to knit a stocking of extra lengthso that part of the upper portion of the stocking may be turned down toadjust the length of the stocking to the leg of the wearer. In somecases this portion has been turned down and fastened to the leg of thestocking by a removable thread, the stocking as thus manufactured beingof a short, or average, length and bein g extensible to a greaterlengthen removal ofthe thread by the wearer. Heretofore so far a s'I amaware it has not been possible to fasten the turned down portion of anextensible stocking to the leg portion thereof by an automatic operation without damaging the stocking and it has been necessary to fastenthe turned "downpart with a removable thread insertedby a manual op- A.su h man a Ope a i s require the expenditure of considerable labor andare time consuming they result in increasing the cost of manufacturingextensible stockings.

An object of my invention is-to provide a machine for automaticallyfastening a turned down top portion of an extensible stocking to the legportion thereof without damaging the stocking.

In describing an embodiment of myinvention .I shall illustrate themanner in whichadoubleply Welt on an extra length stocking is joined tothe leg portion of the stocking for shortening the latter by means of ayarn or thread forming a chain stitch extending through the openings ofa row of picot stitches at the welt foldjthat is at the open end of theextra length stocking, and the openings of a second row of picotstitches in the leg of the stocking below the ,welt; the chain stitchbeing readily removable when it is desired to lengthenthe.eXtensib1eistockingto. adjust it to the leg of the wearer.

In the drawings: Figural is a planview of my machine for Joining loopedfabrics; i

of Fig. 1;

engages an antifriction roller mime i .3.7 .'engaging an eccentric cam 38 fixed to s haft Figure 2 is a sectional view on the line 2- 2 Figures3, i and 5 are fragmentary perspective views illustrating various stagesin the operation of the machine; and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the manner in whichanextensibl'e' stocking is applied to the'machin'eJ Referring to thedrawings, the numeral 1 0 designates a bench orother support oriwhich anapertured bed plate 11' isrnounted. An annulus 12'secured to bed platelljhas anloffset and undercut portion 13 providing a guide for a flange14 on one end of a hollow, rotatable cylinder 15 whose apertureregister'slwith the bedplate aperture. Cylinder 15 is intermittentlyoperated by a spring pressed pawllo engaging the teeth of agear ring 17mounted v intermediate the ends of cylinder 15. Pawl 16 is carried by areciprocable rod 18 guided in a bracket 20 and'operable by an eccentric21 fixed to a'shaft 22 so that cylinder 15 is turned one step for eachrotation of shaft 22. A spring 23 secured to rod 18 and-plate 11 biasesthe rod in onedirection.

The cylinder 15 is provided at its upper end with a rotatablecollar 24having a suitable bayonet lock for removably holding an ordinaryquillring 26, the fabric holding pins or quills 2,7 of which. aresubstantially U-shapedin cross section and are assembledon the quillring with the open side of their channels extending outwardly.

A resilientlatch type needle is'mou'ntedon a support 3 1 secured to orintegral with aslide 32 guided ,forreciproc'ative vertical movement in agroove in anupright bracket 34 mounted on bed plate 11 in spacedrelation to cylinder 15.

Needle 3 .is so mounted onsupport 3,1thatflit i clines toward quillring26 and'd'uring. theire'ciprocationof slide 32 the needle is adapted tobe moved into and through the channel of a quill 2'7 for engagingandd'rawing a vyarnor thread downwardlythrough the quill toform aloop.The yarn or thread is directed for engagement by needle 30 through theuse. of suitable thread guiding means, not shown.

An angularly extendin portion of a rod 35 on the'lnedl e support '31 formovingv slide 32 upwardly'ahd to control the downward movement of theslide der the action, of a spring 36 A b see g in i in. 1

in a groove oi a bracket 42 to maintain rod in a horizontal plane duringits reciprocative movements by cam 38 and springs 40.

Intermediate its hook and latch and its point of attachment to support31, the needle 30 extends into a slot in a needle guide 43 carried by alever 44 pivotally mounted on bracket 34. Below its pivot, lever 44 hasan angular extension 45 maintained in contact with a bevelled endportion (Fig. 2) of a rod 47 by a spring 48 secured to the extension andto bracket 34. Rod 47 is guided in a bracket 50 and is adapted to bereciprocated by an eccentric 51 fixed to shaft 22. A spring rod 52 ismounted on a plate 53 and has a lateral extension 54 adapted to serve asa loop holding finger, by which term the extension will hereinafter bereferred to. Plate 53 is pivotally mounted on bracket 34 and has a lug55 extending into the path of movement of the end of the angular portionof rod 35 for counterclockwise operation thereby.

A stud 56 carried by needle support 31 is adapted to engage springrod'52 and move loop holding finger 54 away from quill ring 26 as needle30 is moved upwardly. A spring 57 connected to plate 53 and bracket 34biases the finger against theperiphery of quill ring 26.

The resiliency of spring rod 52 normally maintains loop holding finger54 laterally positioned to be traversed by needle 30. An arm 58 of abell crank pivotally mounted on bracket 34 engages rod 52 for movingfinger 54 laterally away from needle 30 at a certain point in the upwardmovement of the needle. The other arm 60 of the bell crank is connectedby a link 61 to a lever 62 intermediately pivoted at 59 on a bracket 63.Lever 62 is adapted to be engaged and rocked by a segmental cammingmember 64, secured to cam 38, for actuating the bell crank to movefinger 54 laterally of the needle and quill ring. A spring 65 connectedto link 61 and bracket 34 biases the bell crank for positioning its arm58 to permit the resiliency of spring rod 52 to position loop holdingfinger 54 for traversal by needle 30.

A lever 66 having a stud 67 for engaging rod 52 is pivotally mounted onbracket 34. Lever 66 is formed toextend into the path of a cam or lug 68mounted on gear ring 17 so that at the end of a revolution of cylinder15 the lever is actuated to move finger 54 away from the periphery ofquill ring 26; Shaft 22 has a driving pulley 70 fixed thereto and anidler pulley 71 loosely mounted thereon. A drive belt 72 is shiftablefrom pulley 71 to pulley 70 by a belt shifting member 73 having anoperating handle 74. A rod 75 connected to member 73 is guided inbrackets 76 and has a notch 77 in which a latching lever 78 is adaptedto be seated by a spring 80 for retaining belt '72 on driving pulley 70against the force of a spring 81 mounted between one bracket 76 and acollar 82 on rod 75. Latching lever 78 has an arm 83 extending into thepath of a lug or cam 84 on gear ring 17 and is operable thereby aboutits pivot 79 on bracket 76 at the end of a revolution of cylinder 15,torelease rod 75 and permit spring 81 to cause belt 72 to be shifted tothe idle pulley.

The extra length stocking is shortened in applying the stocking to quillring 26, that is, in topping the stocking. The stocking is topped byplacing each adjacent picot opening of a row 87 at theitop of the weltover'adjacent quills 27 of quill ring 26, it being understood that thereare as many quills on the ring 26 as there are picot openings in eachrow of picot stitches. The leg portion 8615 then drawn up and the picotopenings of a row 88 below the welt are placed over the quills inregistration with those openings of the picot row 87 which align on thestocking with the openings of row 88. The double-ply welt is normallyformed by folding the upper portion of the stocking about the row 87 ofpicot stitches to provide a picot top at the open end of the stocking. Arow 90 of picot stitches may be knitted immediately below welt 85 toprovide a picot top at the open end of the stocking as shortened.

-It is deemed desirable to top the stocking on a quill ring and thenmount the quill ring on cylinder 15, extra quill rings being provided sothat one stocking may be topped on a quill ring while another stockingis having the shortened portion fastened as the quill ring on which itwas topped rotates with cylinder 15. However, whether a stocking istopped on an extra quill ring or on a quill ring attached to cylinder15, the foot and leg portion of the stocking are passed through theapertures in the quill ring, cylinder 15 and bed plate 12 and a weightor other tensioning device is attached to the stocking for drawing theyarn adjacent the picot openings tautly around the fabric holding quillsand into contact with the top of the quill ring so that the registeringloops "of yarn on the quills are maintained spread or distended in suchmanner that the yarn does close the channels in the quills. I When thehandle 74 is moved to operating position, shifting member 73 moves belt72 from idle pulley 70 to driving pulley 71 for rotating shaft 22. Asthe rod 75 is moved with member '73, spring 81 is compressed and rodnotch 77 is alined with latching lever 78 which is drawn into notch 77by spring 80 for retaining the belt in driving position.

During the rotation of shaft 22 cam 38 acts on roller 37 to raise lever35 in a vertical plane against the force of springs 40 while bar 41moving in the guide of bracket 42 maintains lever 35 in a horizontalplane. As lever 35 is moved upwardly, its offset end which is in contactwith the roller on support 31, moves the latter upwardly tensioning thespring 36, vertical movement of support 31 being provided for by theguiding of slide 32 in bracket 34. Since needle 30 is inclined towardquill ring 26 the upward movement of support 31 causes the end of theneedle to enter and pass upwardly 27 and through two registering yarnloops on the quill; Needle 30 is moved upwardly with support 31until'its latch is positioned above the yarn loops on the quill pointand its hook extends beyond a yarn or thread 91 which is guided by anysuitable thread guiding device to a point adjacent the quill 27 alinedwith needle 30. It is to be understood that the free end of the yarn orthread 91 is securely held by a suitable holding device.

When the. high point of cam 38 passes beyond Needle 30 moving downwardlythus forms a loop which is held by loop'holding finger 54 as themovement of stud 56 on carrier 31 away from rod '52'permits spring '57to rock plate 53 and press finger 54 against quill ring 26.

through the channel in quill with the needle.

Eccentric 21 fixed to shaft 22 then moves rod 18 to the right, Fig. 1,causing pawl 16 to turn cylinder 15 a single step for alining the nextquill with needle 30. Eccentric 51 acts to move rod 47 so that itsbevelled end engaging extension 45 of lever 44 rocks the latterclockwise. The rocking of lever 44 causes needle guide 43 to move theend of needle 30 further away from ring 26 and outwardly of finger 54which holds the loop drawn by the needle.

When cam 38- again acts to raise needle carrier 31 and needle 30, asdescribed above, needle 30 traverses or passes over loop holding finger54, as shown in Figure 4, and moves upwardly to enter the channel of thequill 27 which is now alined As the latch of the needle contacts thelooped thread it is swung open and the loop is transferred to the shankof the needle as the latter passes upwardly through the loop held byfinger 54.

Camming member 64, positioned adjacent the high point of cam 38 on whichit is carried, engages lever 62 and moves the latter clockwise, Fig. 2,to rock the bell crank connected to link 61. On rocking of this bellcrank its arm 58 moves spring rod 52 and withdraws the loop holdingfinger 54 from beneath needle 30, Fig. 5, thus releasing the loop drawnby the needle in its downward movement. Rod 45? is withdrawn byeccentric 51 and as its bevelled portion recedes, spring 48 acts tomaintain extension 45 of lever 44 in contact with rod 47, thus rockingthe lever counterclockwise and moving needle guide 43 to permit the endof needle 30 to enter the channel in the alined quill 2'7.

As the end of needle 30 is moved upwardly in the channel of quill 2'7and through the register ing fabric loops on the quill, the stud 56 oncarrier 31 engages rod 52 and moves finger 54 away from the periphery ofthe quill ring 26, as shown in Fig. 5, while plate 53 is rocked againstthe tension of spring 57. In the downward movement of needle 39 its hookengages yarn 91 and draws the yarn through the channel of the quill andthe registering fabric loops thereon, the needle latch again closing oncontacting these loops. Thus, the needle forms another loop which itdraws through the loop which was previously drawn and which is now onthe shank of the needle. As the hooked end of needle passes through andbeyond the loop previously drawn this loop passes off the needle shankand is drawn taut on the quill ring and the newly formed loop is held byfinger 54, as previously described.

During subsequent rotations of shaft 22 the needle 30 continues to formloops drawing each in turn through the loop previously formed thusforming a chain stitch through and between the openings of the rows 87and 88 of picot stitches on the stocking. Cylinder 15 is intermittentlyadvanced by pawl 26 until the cylinder has made a full revolution andthe welt has been fastened to the leg portion of the stocking by thechain stitch through the openings of picot rows 87 and so. At the end ofa revolution of cylinder 15 the lug 68 on gear ring 17 engages the arm66 rocking the latter clockwise to cause the stud 67 carried thereby toengage rod 52 and move loop holding finger 54 away from quill ring 26 tofacilitate replacement of the quill ring. Lug 84 also engages extension83 of latching lever 78 moving the latter from notch 77 in rod whereuponspring 81 moves the rod and member 73 to shift belt 72 onto idle pulley70 thereby stopping the rotation 'of shaft 22 and the operation of themachine.

On completion of the operation described above the yarn 91 is broken andthe free end of the yarn is threaded in the turned down portion of thestocking. It should be noted that the folded portion of the stocking issecured to the leg portion thereof by a circular seam comprising a chainstitch formed through the fabric openings and that the stocking is notdamaged in any way as none of the fabric threads were cut or split bycontact with a sewing needle.

When it is desired to adjust the shortened stocking to fit a longer legone end of the thread is released and the chain stitch may be readilyremoved by pulling on the end of the thread.

What I claim is:

1. A machine for joining looped fabrics comprising; a member having aplurality of fabric retaining means adapted to extendthrough registeredloops of a'fabric or fabrics; means for drawing threadloops through saidretaining means in succession; and means for holding each thread loop,on drawing thereof, againstsaid member to cause interlocking of saidthread loops by said loop drawing means. I

2. A machine for joining looped fabrics cornprising a rotatable quillring having a plurality of quills mounted adjacent the periphery thereofand adapted to extend through registered loops of a fabric; a needlereciprocable in a plane transverse to the plane of rotation of said ringfor drawing a thread loop through quills successively alined with saidneedle; means for intermittently rotating said ring to aline said quillsin succession with said needle; and means for holding each thread loopagainst said ring, on drawing thereof, to cause interlocking of saidthread loops by said needle.

3. A machine for joining looped fabrics comprisinga member supporting aplurality of quills adjacent an edge thereof, said quills being adaptedto extend through registered fabric loops; a needle; means forreciprocating said needle to draw a thread through said quills to forminterlocking thread loops extending through said quills; a loop holdingfinger traversed by said needle; and means for moving said finger intocontact with said edge of said member to hold a loop formed by saidneedle so that the end of said needle traverses said finger at one sidethereof to pass through said loop.

4. A machine for joining looped fabrics comprising a member supporting aplurality of quills adjacent an edgethereof, said quills being adaptedto extend through registered fabric loops; a needle; means forreciprocatin said needle to draw a thread through said quills toforminterlocking thread lo0ps-;a loop holding finger traversed by saidneedle; means for moving said finger into contact with said edge of saidmember to hold a loop formed by said needle so that the end of saidneedle traverses said finger at one side thereof to pass through saidloo-p; means for effecting relative movement of said member and needleto aline another quill with said needle; means for moving said fingerrelatively to said needle and member for releasing said loop; and meansfor moving said finger relatively to said needle and Lid membersupporting a plurality of channelled quills adjacent one edge thereof,said quills being adapted to extend through registering loops of afabric to retain the latter on said member; a reciprocable needle havingan end movable in one direction through the channel of one of saidquills for drawing a thread through said quill to form a loop adjacentsaid edge of said member and movable in opposite directions through asecond quill to draw a second loop through said second quill and throughsaid first loop; means for effecting relative movement of said needleand member to aline said second quill with said needle subsequent toformation of said first loop; a movable loopholding finger; and meansfor moving said finger against said edge of said member to engage andhold said first loop as said needle moves into the channel of saidsecond quill.

6. In a machine for joining looped fabrics; a member supporting aplurality of channelled quills adjacent one edge thereof, said quillsbeing adapted to extend through registering loops of a fabric to retainthe latter on said member; a reciprocable needle having an end movablein one direction through the channel of one of said quills for drawing athread through said quill to form a loop adjacent said edge ofsaidmember and movable in opposite directions through a second quill to drawa second loop through said second quill and through said first loo-p;means for effecting relative movementof said needle and member to alinesaid second quill withsaid needle subsequent to formationof said firstloop; a movable loop holding finger; means for moving said fingeragainst said edge of said member to engage and hold said first loop assaid needle moves into the channel of said second quill; and means formoving said finger relatively to said member and needle to release saidfirst loop to permit it to be tautened by said needle as the latterdraws a second loop.

7. In a machine for joining looped fabrics; a member supporting aplurality of channelled quills adjacent one edge thereof, said quillsbeing adapted to extend through registering loops of a fabric to retainthe latter on said member; a reciprocable needle having an end movablein one direction through the channel of one of said quills for drawing athread through said quill to form a loop adjacent said edge of saidmember and movable in opposite directions through a second quill to drawa second loop through said second quill and through said first loop;means for effecting relative movement of said needle and member to alinesaid second quill with said needle subsequent to formation of said firstloop; a movable loop holding finger; means; for moving said fingeragainst said edge of said member to engage and hold said first loop assaid needle moves into the channel of said second quill; means formoving said finger relatively to said member and needle to release saidfirst loop to permit it to be tautened by said needle as the latterdraws a second loop; means for moving said finger away from said edge ofsaid quill member; and means for positioning said finger to be againmoved against said member for engaging and holding said second loop.

8. A machine for joining looped fabrics comprising; a member supportinga plurality of spaced, channelled quills adjacent one edge thereof, saidquills being adapted to extend through registered loops of a fabric toretain the latter on said member; a reciprocable, latch type needle;means for moving said needle in one direction through the channel of oneof said quills to draw a thread through said quill for forming a threadloop adjacent said edge of said member, the latch of said needle closingduring downward movement thereof to retain said thread loop in the endof said needle; means for efiecting'Telative movement of said member andneedle to aline a second quill with said needle; a loop holding finger;means for moving said finger against said mem er to engage and hold saidthread loop; and means for moving the end of said needle into thechannel of said second quill, said needle moving means moving saidneedle into the channel of said second quill and through the latter, theend of said needle passing over said finger and the latch thereofopening on contacting said thread loop to transfer the latter to theshank of said needle so that a second thread loop drawn through saidsecond quill by said needle extends through and is interlocked with saidfirst loop.

9. A machine for joining looped fabrics comprising; a member supportinga plurality of spaced, channelled quills adjacent one edge thereof, saidquills being adapted to extend through registered loops of a fabric toretain the latter on said member; a reciprocable, latch type needle;means for moving said needle in one direction through the channel of oneof said quills to draw a thread through'said quill for forming threadloop adjacent said edge of said memher, the latch of said needle closingduring down-- ward movement thereof to retain said thread loop in theend of said needle; means for effecting relative movement of said memberand needle to aline a second quill with said needle; a loop holdingfinger; means for moving said finger against said member to engage andhold said thread loop; means for moving the end of said needle into thechannel of said second quill and through the latter, the end of saidneedle passing over said finger and the latch thereof opening oncontacting said thread loop to transfer the latter to the shank of saidneedle so that a second thread loop drawn through said second quill bysaid needle extends through and is interlocked with said first loop; andmeans for moving said finger relatively to said needle and member forreleasing said first thread loop to permit tr e latter to be tautened assaid needle draws said second loop.

10. A machine for joining looped fabrics, comprising a rotatable ringhaving a plurality of channelled quills mounted adjacent the peripherythereof and adapted to extend through registering loops of a fabric; areciprocable needle movable in the channels of said quills in successionto draw a thread through said quills to form interlocking thread loops;a loop holding finger, means for moving said finger against theperiphery of said ring to engage and hold each thread loop as it isdrawn by said needle for causing said needle to pass through said loopin drawing a second loop; intermittently operable means for rotativelyadvancing said ring subsequently to the drawing of each loop; and meansfor automatically terminating the reciprocation of said needle and therotation of said ring on completion of a revolution thereof.

11. A machine for joining looped fabrics, comprising a rotatable ringhaving a plurality of channelled quills mounted adjacent the peripherythereof and adapted to extend through registering loops of a fabric; areciprocable needle movable in the channels of said quills in successionto draw a thread through said quills to form the drawing of each loop;means for automatically terminating the reciprocation of said needle andthe rotation of said ring on completion of a revolution thereof; andmeans operable on completion of a revolution of said ring for movingsaid finger away from the periphery of said ring.

HARRY McADAMS.

